A Tale of Two Schools
by nighttimetale
Summary: Phillip and Lillian have moved to High Valley. A faraway place where there is endless forest and wilderness. But the twins have no idea what they're getting into. A longtime rivalry between Bluebell High and Konohana High threatens the peace of the town, and apparently the mayor wants the twins to help to cure the rivalry and unite the two Schools. (Tale of Two Towns, Harvest Moon)
1. Prologue

**Welcome to the first chapter of an AU Tale of Two Towns story that Noodles830 and I have been working on. Enjoy :)**

* * *

It was quiet in the Evers household. Outside, two big dogs were playing with a bone. On the main floor, the mother was talking to her sister on the phone while stirring the soup. And on the second floor, the siblings were lounging in one of their bedrooms.

"I'm bored." The boy with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes broke the silence that was hanging in the air for the last ten minutes. He was staring at his older twin sister by four minutes, while lying on his back on his sister's bed and stoking the family cat's fur.

"So? What am I supposed to do?" His sister replied, not taking her grey eyes off her book. She was currently supported by a comfy beanbag, and the book, Hush Hush, was getting into the good part. She blew at another brown hair strand that was getting in her view, but it stubbornly flew back.

"I don't know, we still have a week left until school starts." The boy said, "We can go bowling, or go to that pool everyone been talking about, you know? The one in the southern side of the city?"

"Sure, you can go then."

"Come'on big sister, please?" The boy whined. The cat, now feeling satisfied by the attention, jumped off the bed and stepped out of the room. "None of my friends are here, they're all in Hawaii or somewhere tropical. At least give me some company."

"No."

"You're no fun."

"Mmm." His sister finally looked from the book and said. "Like you said, we still have a week of summer, that's enough time. Plus, I want to finish this book." She waved her book for her brother to see, when she felt that her point was proved, she returned to her reading.

The room was restored to silence once again. The boy had now taken an interest in the million pictures, that their mother had taken in their last sixteen-almost-seventeen years of their life in the drawer near the bed.

"Lillian! Phillip! Lunch's ready!" Their mother called from downstairs. The girl, Lillian, sighed and closed her book and raced her brother downstairs, but Lillian won when her brother, Phillip, tripped on the last step and Lillian jumped over him, arriving at the kitchen. Their mother rolled her eyes at her children's competitive attitudes.

When they said their prayers and she poured them each of the Milestone soup, the twins' mother sighed, taking their attention.

"What's up mom?" Asked Phillip.

"Well…" Their mother started, "I've been thinking about traveling the world, and I was just talking to your aunt. So everything is already set up, and-"

"Mom?" Lillian interrupted, "Your point is?"

"What I'm saying, you'll be living with your aunt until you graduate." Their mother finally dropped the bomb.

**_Written by Noodles830_**


	2. One: Phillip

_Dear Mom,_  
_I miss you already. The car journey is taking forever and Lillian hasn't looked up from her book since we left. (Did you really have to buy her the sequel?). Aunt June is going to take us to look at the schools later today, I hope they're nice. Write back soon, okay?_  
_Love, Phillip._

The boy folded the note neatly and put it in one of the many envelopes he and his sister bought before leaving. They'd promised their mother to write everyday and there was no way he'd go back on that promise. He missed her already and, although he was glad that she was making her dreams come true, he wished she was there with them.

Phillip looked over at his twin sister. Nope, still reading. He sighed and stroked the ginger cat that was lying by his side. At least they were allowed to bring the pets with them, he would have hated to leave Jaffa behind. He would have even missed the huge dogs, Herucle and Sophifa, that had always preferred the company of his sister.

Jaffa opened one green eye and looked up at his owner, as if to decide if he was annoyed about the wake up or if he enjoyed the attention. Deciding on the latter, the ginger cat closed his eye and began to purr. Phillip continued to stroke the cat as he turned his head to look at the passing scenery.

They were surrounded by a lush green forest that he could see was filled with life. Even at the speed they were going, he could spot the flowers that bloomed on the seemingly-untouched grass. At one point he could have sworn that he spotted a bear. Above the forest and into the far distance stood a mountain at the base of which lied High Valley and their Aunt's home.

Phillip didn't even notice that he'd fallen asleep. When he re-opened his eyes, they'd arrived. He climbed out the car behind his sister, waking up the ginger cat that had moved onto his lap. Jaffa sneezed grumpily and curled back into a ball on the now empty seat.

If Phillip was to drive around High Valley alone to look for his aunt's house, he would have never chosen this one. The twin's aunt was tall and slender with her hair pulled tightly back into a bun. She wore a black skirt with a green suit-jacket surrounding her with a professional aura. She usually wore clothes like that, even for family visits, the complete opposite of their mother who proffered dresses and jeans. The only way you could tell that his aunt and mother were sisters was the brown hair and blue eyes they shared. Phillip had inherited those features from his father, or so he was told.

Aunt June's house was nothing like her. It was fairly large, with four bedrooms as well as a huge back garden, but it was decorated in the cosiest possible way. The wooden furnishings had elaborate engravings on the sides, plates and fabrics decorated the walls and the couch was covered in small pillows. Even the kitchen, which was updated with the latest technology, had a homey feel to it.

It was very pretty and very, very feminine. Phillip nearly jumped for joy when his aunt told them that they could decorate their rooms however they wanted, instead he got a loop on his jeans caught on the door handle and fell while walking inside. Lillian just shook her head. When they were little she would always giggle when he tripped up, but it's been seventeen years and Phillip was just as clumsy.

Phillip spent most of the hour they had to relax taking down the various decorations from his bedroom walls. He wasn't the manliest man and the decorations were nice, but goddess forbid he brought friends home to see that this was his room. Plus, some of the decorations creeped him out.

When it was time to leave, he'd gotten everything he wanted out and had even managed to start unpacking some of his stuff. He put on his tan coat and followed his Aunt outside.

Walking down the road, you could truly appreciate the endless forest surrounding High Valley. The small glimpses of it could not compare to the actual beauty of the place and Phillip knew that he and his sister would try to explore every aspect of it. Aunt June's home was located just at the edge of the forest, which gave a beautiful backdrop to the cottage. I was nothing like their family home in the city and Phillip definitely preferred it.

High Valley wasn't a big town and it took them less than ten minutes to get there. Before them stood two large buildings, each with a banner above the front door. The building on the left had a bluejay in a circle on the banner while the banner on the right building was of a red panda chewing on bamboo.

"There are two schools in High Valley. Bluebell and Konohana." Aunt June told the twins, pointing at each building respectively. "I spoke to the headteachers in both schools and they both agreed to accept you. The choice is yours."

"How do they differ?" Lillian asked her aunt, her nose out of her book for once.

"Well, they both have great academic programs and libraries and they both win nearly every trophy they compete for." Aunt June scratched her head. "I guess the only difference I can think of is the types of dish they enter in the Cooking Festival."

"Cooking Festival?"

"Yes, it happens once a month and there's a special category for the schools to compete against each other." Their aunt explained. "Konohana always enters crop-based dishes while Bluebell focuses their on animal products. Oh look, there's Rutger and Ina."

The twins looked up to see a man and a woman walking in their direction. The woman, Ina, Phillip guessed, looked stern and determined, a look that vanished when she smiled at them. She had long, black hair and wore a red gown that suited her dark skin. The man was pale with blonde hair and a moustache, he was shorter than Phillip but the hat that rested on his head made it difficult to tell. Both headteachers extended their hands for the twins to shake.

"I'm Ina," Said the woman. "I am the headteacher of Konohana which you are both welcome to attend."

The man, Rutger, rolled his eyes. "Oh please, if these two are going to attend a school in High Valley it should definitely be Bluebell. My name is Rutger and I am the headteacher of Bluebell School, the best in High Valley. You'd both be very welcome there."

"Who do you think you are? If these two attend school here, it'll be Konohana." Ina collected herself and turned back toward the twins. "I'm sorry to yell, it's just that I'd hate you to make the wrong choice."

"And who do you think you are?" Rutger was now red in the face. "Konohana can't even begin to compare to my Bluebell!"

"Bluebell better than Konohana?!" Ina was now also shouting. "Don't be ridiculous, Rutger!"

The two headteachers continued to shout at each other until Aunt June cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry, the choice is, of course, yours." Rutger told the twins.

"I also apologise. Please inform me if you'd like to attend Konohana High by Monday morning. Goodbye." At that, both Ina and Rutger turned around and walked back into their respective buildings. Phillip and Lillian just stared after them, confused about what had just happened.

"I should have warned you about that." Aunt June apologised. "They've been fighting for so long, it didn't even cross my mind as extraordinary."

"Why are they fighting?" Phillip asked her.

"Nobody knows," She handed each of them a leaflet. "The choice is up to you. For now, do you want to get some ice-cream."

The twins grinned.

"I bet I can eat more than you!" Lillian dared her brother.

"You wish!" He replied as they followed their aunt home.

Their aunt gave them each a bowl and spoon and took the ice cream out of the freezer. Phillip's mouth watered. The twin's aunt always made her own ice cream and everytime she visited and brought some over, it would be gone within minutes. Both him and Lillian filled their bowls with generous amounts, measuring to see if it was equal.

"Help yourselves." Their aunt laughed. "I have some paper work to do but the mayor will come by later to give you a tour of the town." And with that she left the room.

The twins ate in silence for a long while, simply enjoying the beauty of home-made ice cream.

"Which should we chose?" Lillian asked her brother as she licked her spoon. She was now on her third bowl.

"I don't know." He replied, dropping his spoon into the bowl as a sign of defeat. "I just wish we knew what they were arguing about."

Lillian nodded in agreement as she dragged Phillip's bowl to her, finishing that as well.

"Lillian! Phillip!" Their aunt called from the hallway. Phillip waited as his twin put their bowls in the sink and together they went to find their aunt.

Aunt June was standing by the door, talking to a beautiful woman with mint-green hair which oddly suited her. She was wearing a blue gown with a red belt and she smiled at the twins as they walked in.

"Hello Lillian. Hello Phillip." The woman said. "My name is Demeter Heavens and I am the mayor."

**-nighttimetale**


	3. Two: Lillian

_Dear Mom,_  
_I wish that I could go with you, I always wanted to visit Paris out of all places, but as you said before, education must come first. Although, I don't see the reason why we shouldn't hire a private tutor to come with us. Then again, a stranger travelling with us for the next few years does sounds strange. The scenery here is just simply gorgeous, nature is everywhere! Phillip swears that he saw a bear earlier yesterday morning._

_Yesterday, the mayor of the town, her name was Demeter Heaven I think, came to the house and requested that we help her stop the fight between the local high schools, Bluebell and Konohana. Phillip and I accepted her request, and will be attending different schools starting this Monday. His will be Konohana and mine will be Bluebell. I'm nervous to be honest, what if the kids at school don't like me? And plus I won't be there to help Phillip with his clumsiness. I just hope that everything will go by smoothly._

_-With love, Lillian._  
_P.S.-Do you mind if you send some money when you write again? I just saw the third book of Hush Hush, Silence, at one of the bookstore nearby! Please can I have it?_

Lillian smiled as she wrote the last sentences and folded it to fit into the envelope. And stuffed the envelope into the already cramped mailbox, most of was her Aunt June's, apparently Aunt June liked to be old-fashioned when she wanted to chat with her long-distance friends.

She made a noise of surprise when she saw the clock, the tour of the town was soon, with that thought Lillian sprinted to her brother's room.

Phillip's room was painted a navy blue with gorgeous dark oak wooden floor. Few frames of their family rested on one of the shelves of the bookshelf near the bed. A small desk stood under the window that was the opposite side of the bed. There was several cluttered papers on the floor. Phillip was laying on his bed, doodling, probably drawing plants or nature.

"Hey Phillip!" She called to get his attention. "We leave soon for the tour of the schools, and if you're not ready by then, we're leaving without you!" Her brother startled and stood up, head whipping to look at his alarm clock.

"What! Why didn't you te- WHOA!" Phillip had slipped on one of the uncluttered papers on the floor and landed with a loud BAM. Lillian winced slightly and sighed.

"You should've known to not leave anything on the floor, considering we've seen this a million times already." Lillian remarked as she helped her brother up from the floor.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Lillian! Phillip!" Their aunt called from the living room. "Demeter's here! We're leaving in five minute!"

Lillian ran to her room to take her small backpack and packed her book if she got bored and some extra money just in case, and lunged the backpack straps across her shoulders and ran to where Phillip, Aunt June and Demeter were waiting.

"We'll split up as soon we reach the town centre that divides the schools, we have to be careful to not let anyone discovers that you two are twins before the plan is completed." Demeter explained as they travelled to the first part of the tour, the schools. "Now back to the topic, as you can see, there's a man-made forest dividing the schools, it was set there by the old principals few decades ago. Ever since, the principals have refused to negotiate to make peace. But once a month they have a baking contest in the town centre."

"I'll be going with Phillip to Konohana, Demeter can join Lillian to visit Bluebell. Any objections?" Met by shaking heads, Aunt June continued. "We'll meet at town centre at… Noon. Well, until then, bye!" She then dragged Phillip with her to the Konohana building.

"Erm… I guess we should go to Bluebell now?" Lillian asked the green-haired woman next to her.

"Yes." Demeter smiled. The pair started their way to the Bluebell High building.

Lillian didn't really get a clear view of the school when she first saw it a few days ago. The school was fairly average sized high school if not smaller, the wooden boards that laid under their feet were slightly aged and worn. The whole building was painted white and blue, the school colours she presumed. Rutger was standing at the front entrance.

"Ah! You must be Miss Lillian Evers! And Mayor Heavens! How are you both?" Rutger exclaimed, "Welcome to Bluebell High!"

Lillian smiled and nodded. "I'm happy to be here, it seem like it's a great school, from what my aunt told me."

"I'm happy to hear that!" Rutger said with a smile, "Well then, follow me inside."

"Bluebell High currently has four hundred students attending, and many functioning classes," Rutger remarked proudly, they were currently in a hallway that led to the elective classes. "Although we are slightly low on teachers, we all work hard to make sure everyone have chances of having a grand future!"

Rutger then led Lillian and Demeter to a brightly lit classroom. "This is the culinary classroom, we take great pride on our school's talent for cooking, you see. Howard, the teacher for the culinary class, will be teaching you for the year. And his daughter is the same grade as you, and so you will see her around once in a while."

Lillian and Demeter were then led to another hallway that was different than the last, "This leads to the literature classes, and history classes are this way." Rutger said. "The Physical and Chemistry classrooms are up north of the school building. And if you follow this shortcut…"

Around an hour or so later, the tour of the school was over as Rutger escorted them outside.

"Well Miss Evers, I sincerely hope you will enjoy your time at Bluebell High this year!" Rutger said. "Until then, farewell!" He continued to wave his hand until the building was out of their sights. Lillian and Demeter walked to the town centre where they would meet Phillip and Aunt June there.

After a couple minutes of waiting in the town centre, Phillip finally arrived.

"Aunt June said she had some sudden business to do." Phillip explained their aunt's disappearance. Lillian nodded in understanding, life as lawyer was busy.

"There's one more place we need to visit before concluding this tour," Demeter said before striking a pose. "The market!" She sang. Lillian and Phillip looked at each other, Phillip arched a fore brow while Lillian smiled, amused. They followed the mayor to the marketplace without uttering a single word.

They entered the marketplace that was just ten minute walk from the town centre, the market was fairly large. Stands could be seen everywhere, seeds stand, food stand, precious stone stand and seemingly endless many more.

Lillian looked around but found no signs of her brother nor the mayor. She sighed in dismay, of course she had gotten separated from them, but suddenly smiled when she saw a flower stand; the flower vase at home was empty, perhaps she could buy some to brighten the home a little more. Lillian quickly made her way to then stand.

"Hey," She greeted. "Could I have a Red Bouquet please?"

"That would be 200 gold." The young man behind the stand said. Lillian nodded and reached in her bag and brought the amount she needed for to pay for the flowers, but few of get her money but someone beat her to it, it was another young man, roughly around her age or so with dirty blond hair, he smiled as he handled her the dropped money.

"Oh thanks," She said as she flushed in embarrassment, she then paid for the flowers and left without a single word. Lillian had a strange feeling that this wouldn't be the only time she'd see those two, but she quickly dismissed the thought as she approached her twin and Demeter at the food stand.

"Phillip! Demeter!" She called.

"Oh there you are, I was worried you got lost, but never mind." Her brother said in relief.

Demeter clapped her hands together. "Well, I have to go now, my workers need me!" She said with a cheerful smile, "Ta ta for now!" Demeter skilful swept her way into the crowd and vanished from the twins' sight.

"Well I'm craving for some homemade ice-cream again." Lillian sighed, adjusting the straps of her bag to ease her aching shoulders and moved the flowers so it was now held by her left hand.

Phillip smacked his lips together and said, "Me too. Shall we get going Miss Lillian?" He said in a joking manner.

"Lead the way Mister Phillip." Lillian grinned and poked her brother in the stomach.

_**Written by Noodles830**_


	4. Three: Phillip

_Dear Mom,_  
_I hope you're enjoying Paris! Lillian's been sighing over the 'City of Love' for as long as I can remember, it's too bad we couldn't come with you. I'm really enjoying my time here so far. I saw a bear through the car window yesterday! Can you imagine?_  
_I'm guessing Lillian told you about the two schools fighting? Mayor Heavens wants us to solve the problem, so Lillian and I will be attending different schools. I get to attend Konohana! Red is a fantastic colour. We're touring the school later today, I can't wait!_  
_Love, Phillip._

Phillip sighed as he tried to find a spot in the mailbox to fit his letter in. As much as he loved Aunt June's idea of hand-written letters, he didn't want his note to get creased before it reached his mother. Finally, he slipped his letter between a few of his aunt's and went back inside.

He passed his sister's room on the way to his own. The majority of the decorations that Aunt June had originally placed still hung on the cream walls of the room, however she'd added some of her own photographs and trinkets to make the room her own.

His twin was sitting at the desk near the window, writing a note he assumed was for their mother. Everything in Lillian's room was neat, except for the bookcase that stood tall near her bed. It was strange, Lillian was probably the most organised person he'd ever met, with different pots and drawers all labelled and everything with its rightful place. However, her bookcase was a completely different story.

"It's so I can fit everything in!" She'd once told him, as they played cards on their old bedroom floor.

"Can't you just get a second bookcase?" He asked, but the look she gave him said clear enough that that was not a possibility.

Phillip continued to his own room where he grabbed a bunch of white paper and began drawing some of the plants he'd seen yesterday. There was one specific plant - a small, blue flower that he didn't know the name of - that caught his eye as they walked home. He'd been trying to draw the small flower for over an hour now, but no matter how hard he tried, the shading of the petals didn't come out right. That's what you get for not practicing, he thought to himself as he chucked yet another unfinished drawing on the floor.

"Hey Phillip! We leave soon for the tour of the schools, and if you're not ready by then, we're leaving without you!" He glanced at his twin and then quickly at the alarm clock by his bed. They were supposed to meet the mayor and their aunt downstairs ten minutes ago.

"What! Why didn't you te- WHOA!" Phillip jumped from the bed and onto the floor, much to fast for someone with his co-ordination, and tripped on the variety of unfinished drawings. He didn't even have to look at his sister to know that she was rolling her eyes.

"You should have known to not leave anything on the floor, considering we've seen this a million time already." Lillian remarked, reaching to help him up from the floor.

"Yeah, yeah." Upon hearing his aunt shout their names, Phillip grabbed his coat and followed his twin downstairs. Lillian went into her room to "grab some stuff" and he continued onto the porch where Aunt June was gossiping with the mayor.

"Morning Ms Heavens." Phillip smiled at the mayor, who kindly smiled back.

"Morning Phillip. Where's your sister?"

"Oh, she's just gone-"

"Morning Ms Heavens!" Lillian interrupted, coming through the front door and the four of them headed for the schools.

"I'll be going with Phillip to Konohana, Demeter can join Lillian to visit Bluebell. Any objections?" Aunt June explained as they reached the forest dividing the schools. The twins shook their heads and their aunt continued. "We'll meet at town centre at… Noon. Well, until then, bye!"

Aunt June dragged Phillip in the direction of Konohana High, he had to jog in order to keep up with her. If this was anyone else, he would have objected, but Aunt June lived on a tight schedule. His aunt timed everything down to the last minute so that she could make the most of every day.

They were met by Principal Ina outside the front gates.

"Good Morning, June." Ina smiled at his aunt, making her look not nearly as stern as usual. "Hello Phillip, you're looking bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. Shall we go in?"

The two followed Ina through the main doors. The hall was nothing like what Phillip expected. The room was anything but plain and looked nothing like his old school. The walls were an almost-white cream with red accents but that wasn't what caught Phillip's attention. It wasn't the mahogany furniture that accented the room perfectly, either.

It was the paintings that almost completely covered the walls. All various sizes and colours, all with name tags revealing that they were painted by pupils at the school. One in particular caught his attention, the beautiful, blue flower that had caught his attention the day before. The same one he'd spent hours trying to replicate earlier.

The person who created the painting was an expert with the brush. The gentle strokes Phillip could see replicated the shadows of the flower perfectly, giving it the beauty of the flower in real life. He spent a small amount of time observing the other paintings and drawings (most of which were crop-based) but his gaze kept coming back to the flower.

"We pride ourselves in the history of our school." Ina smiled, moving to stand next to Phillip. "Many years ago, a great farmer decided to build Konohana High to educate the youth of this town. He was one of the greatest farmers in history, and to honour him, we only ever use freshly harvested crops in our Cooking Festival entries. Do you know about the cooking festival Phillip?"

"Yes, Mayor Heavens explained it to me earlier."

"That's great, because I'm expecting you to enter!" Ina said. "Your new school is counting on you!"

The rest of the school was a lot like the entrance hall. Paintings and colourful boards filled most walls. You'd think that it would have looked tacky, especially for a high school, but the effect was quite the opposite. The neat and organised way everything was set out and the professional quality of the work gave a sense of maturity. It showed that the students here really cared about the school.

"Good morning, Ina. Good morning, June." A tall, slender woman with short, black hair and kind features approached them.

"Good morning, Ayame. This is Phillip, our newest student." Ina introduced them. "Phillip, this is Ayame, she teaches gym class and art."

"Art?"

"Why of course, how else do you think our students have time to paint all these beautiful paintings?" She smiled for a moment admiring the work. "Will you be joining my class?"

"Why, of course. Phillip is extremely talented." Aunt June replied for him, causing him to blush slightly. "He's been sending me drawings with all his letters since I can remember."

Phillip, who was now the colour of a beetroot, looked at the ground, admiring the pattern of the carpet while the three women laughed. Ayame had a warm-hearted laugh. The kind that only genuine people could have, and Phillip decided that she would be his favourite teacher, even though he'd met none of the others.

"Oh goddess, look at the time! I must be going!" Ayame told them. "Football practice starts in ten minutes and I'd rather not have Hiro do the work for me. As great a player as my nephew is, he still has a lot to learn about practice drills. It was lovely meeting you, and I expect to see you in my class!"

"Well, that's it for the tour." Principal Ina told them, once they'd stopped by the cooking class, where Phillip knocked down stack of frying pans and had to pick them up. "Konohana High takes great pride in its students because they always try their best. We expect you to be the best you can be, and if you understand that then I'll be glad to welcome you to our school."

"I understand," Phillip answered, "and I would be glad to attend this school."

"That's great, then. I shall see you on Monday. Come by reception to pick up your schedule first thing."

When they got home, Lillian insisted on another ice-cream contest, Phillip sometimes joked that her stomach was a black hole and she would punch him in the arm while laughing. Nevertheless, his stomach was in agony and all he wanted to do was lie in bed with Jaffa and hopefully finish shading that flower in a way that made it look good. Maybe it would even turn out as good as the painting in the school...

The painting.

It was then that Phillip realised that he forgot to look at the name tag.

**-nighttimetale**


	5. Four: Lillian

_Hey Mom,_  
_So you'll be heading for Spain next week? I really, really want to go with you! You get to go to the most romantic places in the world, while I get to stay here with my dear annoying brother, how wonderful! Please do note the sarcasm. Phillip is rolling his eyes as he eats his breakfast next to me, peeking at what I'm writing once in a while. We're eating blackberry pancakes that I made for breakfast. Delish!_  
_Sorry the letter's so short, I have to finish this quickly since we have so little time right now and tomorrow. School starts in an hour and my nerves are jumping right, just arg! I'm very nervous, what if something goes wrong? _  
_With Love, Lillian_  
_P.S-If my worries are correct, just saying, can we both go with you on your tour of the world? Pretty please?_

Lillian doubled checked the letter for any errors and if there was more that she wanted to add as an afterthought. She soon realized that she had been gnawing on her eraser part of her pencil unknowingly for the last five minute and spat out the rubber.

"Ugh!" She checked her mouth if there were any more rubber in her mouth, she glared at her brother when she heard him laughing at her. "It's not funny!" Lillian huffed as she was sure that she had the last of the rubber out of her mouth. This only resulted making Phillip laugh harder than before. He exclaimed in pain when his sister kicked him sharply on the shin.

"Ow!" Phillip whined, a hand reaching down to rub on the sporting bruise.

"Lillian!" Aunt June entered the kitchen, scribbling on notes for her clients, her brown hair was put in a messy but seemingly decent bun, however she was still missing her jacket and had only one shoe on. "Be nice to your brother! Your mother specifically told me to not let your 'little' threats go ignored! Shouldn't you both be dressed by now?" Aunt June said as she looked for her other shoe. "We're leaving in five minutes, you should've known that, I told you five times yesterday."

"What?!" Phillip said panicking. "I still haven't packed my backpack yet! Oh man! Oh man!" He said loudly as he clumsily made his way to his room getting ready. Lillian rolled her eyes, muttering what sounded like 'he could've packed the night before, but no, he just had to draw that flower.' While her aunt smiled knowingly.

Around ten minutes later after slipping on socks on the floor, gathering the papers that was scattered in Aunt June's study, and last minute preparations, hurrying to the car before they were late, they had arrived at the meeting place, town centre, where the twins would be dropped off and picked from school.

"Good luck," Aunt June said. "I'll be here at two thirty to pick you up." She and Phillip stared at the quickly disappearing vehicle as it drove further and further. Lillian became increasingly anxious of what she would encounter today in a brand new school. And being on a mission did not help at all. Nope.

"See you later." Phillip said from behind her, Lillian turned around to see her brother walking to the Konohana building.

"Don't trip or anything to embarrass yourself!" She called back, teasing her brother. She had a feeling she had just jinxed her brother. Oh well, it wasn't like it would affect the mission. Right? Tightening her hold on her backpack's straps, Lillian started to walk to her school building.

She sighed, grey eyes staring at the building front of her, the Bluejay mascot seemed to be mocking her. Stepping inside the building to take a view of the hallway that was already filled with club posters and papers pinned on the wall, the students chatted lazily as they catch up with their friends before the first bell. Lillian entered the office which was small and bit crowded.

"Uh, excuse me?" She said to the kind-looking old woman front of her.

The woman looked up from her work. "Oh! You must be the new student my husband, Rutger, told me about. I'm Rose, the school secretary. I'll get your timetable, please do wait for a moment." Rose gave her a kind smile as she turned around to scroll through her files. Lillian took the time by looking around the office, she immediately was drawn to the old school photos; a new one was taken every year.

Bluebell High, 1829 The oldest photo read, the class attendance was small compared to the more present photos, about three teachers and twenty-one students stood front of the old Bluebell building. Surprisingly the trees dividing the two schools weren't there, just a large field filled with new planted crops and several cows and sheep was further back in the background.

"Miss Evers?" A voice snapped out of her wondering. Lillian turned to see the secretary handing her timetable.

"Thank you." Lillian smiled and took her timetable.

"Let see… I have room 103 for first period and that's... English right." Lillian muttered to herself, searching for the 11th grade English classroom. She smiled when she found the classroom just in time when the bell rang.

"Excuse me but I'm new here." She told her English teacher.

"Ah yes, Rutger told me that we would be getting a lovely new student here at Bluebell. I'm Jessica. You must be Lillian Evers right?" Lillian nodded and the dirty blonde woman gave her a warm smile. "Take any seats whatever you want, I'll be taking attendance in five minutes."

Lillian gave her thank to her teacher and looked around the room, most of the seats were now filled, she took the seat on the third row next to a pretty blonde and red-haired girls.

"I'm Laney, and this is Georgia." The blonde introduced herself and her friend. Georgia, the red haired girl, smiled and waved to Lillian.

"I'm Lillian." She returned the smile.

"The new student?" Georgia asked, "Don't worry! You will come to enjoy this school sooner that you think!" She continued after receiving a nod. "Bluebell has everything! Chess club, track, and even equestrian! You know, for once I would like to beat that senior, Kana from Konohana High this year!" The red haired girl huffed. The teacher, Jessica had started to take attendance.

"Yeah! I want to beat Nori in the cook off! I hate when Konohana get smug with their victories and trophies!" Laney said with a frown. "As you might notice, Konohana is our rival as you might call it, they always show off when they win at anything, and they prizes their art and garden. I don't understand why people there prefer there than here!" She explained to Lillian.

Lillian was about to respond but Jessica began the class by announcing the events that would happen in the class later in the week and next week.

"We'll talk later in lunch." Laney whispered.

The following classes went by, second period was with a nice man who was apparently Georgia's father, Grady, and he taught history. Third was with Eileen, the woodcraft and art teacher, a nice woman but very enthusiastic when it came to building. Finally, the bell rang for second lunch, the school had three different times for lunches, first lunch was mostly freshman and sophomores. Second lunch had several sophomores but many was juniors with few seniors, while the third was all seniors.

Lillian's stomach growled happily as she smelled the cafeteria food. It didn't look or smell as awful as the cheap food her previous schools provided. After paying for her food, Georgia waved her over at one of the tables near the front row.

To be said, she was surprised to see the boys she had encountered at the market last Saturday sitting at the table. Lillian voiced her thought after she was seated.

"Yeah, I didn't expect to see you again either." The boy with dirty blond hair grinned at her. "I'm Ash, and this is Cam." Ash nodded toward his blonde friend next to him. "So you're Lillian right? Laney told us about you."

"Oh? She did?" Lillian said in surprise.

"Yeah I did, you seemed really nice." Said Laney, who joined the table and sat next to Cam. She then explained that she was a bit late since she had to stay behind to discuss with her teacher. Lillian smiled at her.

"Laney and Cam's dating, just to let you know." Georgia whispered to Lillian ten minutes later when she noticed Cam giving Laney a kiss on the cheek as he left for to chat with his Home Eco teacher.

They continued to chatter and eat their lunch for the whole lunch period. Later she discovered that she shared the same last few periods with the gang of friends. Home Eco, math and science.

"Hey you there!" Lillian was just walking to her last class for the day when a short girl with long neon pink hair came up to her, a camera in her hands. "I'm Ulyssa from the yearbook class! Can I get a photo of you? Please?" The pinkette asked with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Uh? Sure?" She barely finished her sentence before a flash went off, stunning Lillian for a moment.

"Thanks!" Ulyssa said, beaming. "I'll see you around! Bye!"

'What just happened?' Lillian thought as she blinked, still seeing spots from the sudden flash. She sighed, it would take her a while before she got used to the school's seemingly bizarre activities. But she had a feeling that she would enjoy it nevertheless. Lillian then made her way to her last period with a small smile tugging on the edges of her mouth.

At the end of the day, when her aunt came to pick her and Phillip up, she walked out of the building the place that she and her brother would meet up after school. She only needed to be careful to not be seen with her brother by anyone who was a staff or student at her school. Lillian hoped that everything went by smoothly. Seeing her brother leaning on one of the tree near their meeting place, Lillian called his name to get his attention.

A girl can only hope for so much can't she?

_**Written by Noodles830**_


	6. Five: Phillip

_Dear Phillip,_

_I'm sure you will do great tomorrow! You have done this once before, so it should be a breeze today. Make sure you check where your classes are at the start of the day, you don't want to be late on your first day!_

_I included a red carnation with this letter, I hope you can draw it and send it to me with your next letter. You have always had such talent.  
_

_I miss you, I love you,_

_Mom.__  
_

Phillip folded the letter carefully and placed it into the side pocket of his backpack. He felt awful, the letter came this morning and he'd had no time to reply. Phillip always wrote to his mother in the morning, and he simply hadn't had time to do so today. It was a miracle that he'd managed to pack his bag and look presentable before his aunt made them leave the house. At least he managed to finish the plant he was painting, having no problems with the shading this time.

He'd checked who'd painted the flower this morning,'Nori'. Now that he knew, it felt so pointless. It's not like it mattered, it was only a painting. He also had no idea who this 'Nori' was. For all he knew, he or she could have left the school years ago!

"What was that?" The blonde boy who was sitting next to Phillip, asked. He had apparently been peeking over his shoulder as he read the letter. "You should really pay attention in class, you know."

Phillip looked up at the boy, he was smiling at him so Phillip decided to joke back. "And you really shouldn't read people's mail. That's a crime, I should report you to my mail carrier."

The boy laughed. "Chances are, I am your mail carrier. Not that you'd know, you're knew here. I'm sorry though."

"It's cool." Phillip replied, a bit concerned. "Is it really obvious that I'm new?"

"Yup." The boy laughed again, he seemed like 'that' person. The one that was always in a good mood. "Don't worry, it's because we're such a tightly knit community, everybody looks out for each other. We do share a common goal after all."

"Goal?" Their conversation was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. A boy wearing a horse hoodie with his hair tied up into a ponytail entered the room. He looked at least a year older than Phillip and he couldn't help but wonder how someone with tribal tattoos ended up in a basic English class.

"Ah, young Kana." The English teacher, Gombe, said. "Right on time I see. How's Hayate?"

"She's great sir, we're preparing for the contest in the Spring." Kana replied.

"Maybe you could also prepare for the finals in December, hmm?" It didn't sound strict at all, it almost seemed like they were bantering. This school really was closely knit. Kana smiled at the teacher and sat at the end of Phillips and his blonde neighbour's desk, whispering a quick 'hey'. The class fell back into silence as Gombe returned to his lecture on poetry.

Phillip should have known that his luck wasn't going to last forever. He hadn't tripped or said anything embarrassing by third lesson and that could not mean anything good. On the way to class he'd asked some passer by for the directions to the restroom, but everyone was already in class by the time he got out. He'd forgotten to check where all his classes were in advance, despite his mother's reminder. Obviously.

By the time he managed to locate the right room, he was ten minutes late already. He actually contemplated not going. _Maybe the teacher won't notice if the new kid doesn't show up?_ He thought and then slapped himself mentally; he was not a coward. He knocked on the door twice and walked into the room, head held high.

Unfortunately, this meant that he didn't notice the rise in the floor and fell flat on his face. _That's what you get for bravery_, he thought as the class erupted into laughter.

"Oh stop it all of you." A strict but kind voice said and the class immediately shut up. "Nori, please help the poor boy up."

Nori?

He looked up to see the most beautiful girl to exist stretching her hand out to help him up. She had long, raven hair that passed over her shoulders and a smile that could probably light up the darkness. Okay, maybe it was physically impossible for a smile to emit light, but hers did.

Phillip felt his cheeks heat up. He hoped she assumed it was just because he fell. The teacher, Yun, told him to stand behind a desk as she welcomed him to the class. Nori motioned for him to stand at her and Ayame's nephew's, Hiro's, desk.

They were making a simple fruit salad, since it was the first day of term and the two of them let Phillip share their ingredients since he had none of his own. Yun gave all three of them a bunch of apples to share as well.

"Are you the one who painted the flower in the entrance hall?" Phillip asked Nori. "I saw the nametag."

"You saw that?" She smiled as she peeled her mandarin. "It tends to attract a lot of attention since it's not crop based."

"It is also an exquisite work of art." Hiro added. "Nori is a fine master in the art of precise shading."

"I'm not that brilliant." She smiled. "Do you paint, Phillip?"

"No. I prefer to draw." He replied. "I could never truly get the hang of painting, I'm not patient enough."

"Neither am I." Hiro said, chopping an apple with extreme precision whilst not even looking down. "I have an awful tendency to give up on my work. I understand that it's appalling, yet I can never bring myself to finish. It is quite peculiar."

"You should watch your fingers Hiro." Nori pointed out, noticing the lack of care in his method of chopping. "You're going to need them for the cooking festival."

"Oh, my apologies." Hiro replied, averting his gaze. "I did not mean to worry you. As for the Cooking Festival, Konohana is bound to win. Our cooking is far superior to that of the Bluebills, you must know that."

"Bluebills?"

"Oh yes, Phillip, I'd forgotten you were new for a moment!" Hiro exclaimed. "Bluebills are what the students of Bluebell High are referred to as. They are all horrendously big headed."

Phillip loved lunchtime. It was such a good time to meet new people and socialise and he was glad to find that the food served here was actually appetising. "It's the fresh crops." The cook said, noticing his stare. He sat with Hiro and Nori at lunch, he was surprised to find that they were friends with the blonde boy from English, Dirk, and Kana.

"We're all the new kids." Nori explained. "Mostly everyone else has lived in High Valley their whole lives. Kana and I joined late freshman year. Hiro moved here in the Fall of last year, and Dirk followed this Spring. We just gravitated towards each other."

"I know it's bizarre." Kana added. "You wouldn't think that someone with such an extended vocabulary as Hiro would hang around with Dirk. The kid can barely spell his own name."

"Watch it!" Dirk shouted as he shoved him, and then proceeded to run as Kana chased him around the room. Hiro and Nori just rolled their eyes at the two boys.

The last two lessons were a breeze. Phillip had science and with Mako, who was apparently as obsessed with fruit as Phillip was with plants, and art which he already loved. He showed Ayame the drawing of the blue flower, an Aquilegia Winky Blue and White as he'd found out from Nori, and she gave him one of her kind smiles. "You'll fit right in." she said.

Nori and Dirk were in his art class but the seats at their table were all full so Phillip ended up sitting next to a girl named Reina instead. Reina didn't say much but Phillip didn't mind. She was very polite, just a bit lost in her thoughts.

When it was time to go home, Phillip felt slightly relieved. Nobody had asked him about his family, and the letter from his mother hadn't contained anything that could suggest he had a twin. He would have to make a few backup plans in case of emergency, she was the one who knew how to act and make strories, not Phillip.

"Wait up!" Dirk shouted from behind him, he was walking with Nori. "You walking?"

"For a bit." Phillip replied. "I'm getting picked up near the town centre."

"That's the direction we're headed in too! Let's walk together."

They chatted about the cooking Festival as they walked. "It's such a shame that Pierre isn't here this month. I adore cooking with both Fall and Summer crops."

"And I adore eating the dishes you cook with Fall and Summer crops." Dirk replied. They soon reached the place that Phillip was supposed to meet his aunt and twin. He was relieved to find that neither was there yet.

"Okay, this is where I'm getting picked up. My aunt should be here any minute."

"Would you like us to wait until she gets here?" Nori asked

"No really, it's fine. I don't want to keep you guys waiting."

"Are you sure?" Nori asked. "We really wouldn't mind."

"I'm sure." Phillip replied, slightly nervous that she'd insist to stay. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!" He waited for a bit after they left, leaning against a tree. He was glad that Lillian hadn't shown up before him and prayed that that would be the case for the next two years, but a guy can only hope for so much, can't he?

**-nighttimetale**


	7. Six: Lillian

_Dear Mom,_  
_Can you believe that it has been almost a month since Phillip and I stood in front of Aunt June's house? Just wow… School is doing great, I just got a hundred on the book report in English! Phillip is doing well, he just told me that he is considering joining the art competition that Konohana holds on the week before Spring Break, which isn't for another few months. He said that he's making his 'greatest masterpiece ever', but he still hasn't told me what he is drawing. _  
_I'm excited to see you next week on my and Phillip's birthday, and you HAVE to tell me about your trip to Spain. And you'd better bring me a souvenir! _  
_-With Much Love, Lillian._

Lillian wrote the last part of the letter and looked up to the clock, 2:10, the clock read. Just twenty more minutes then she would be out of here. Not that she didn't like the math teacher, Enrique, she was just eager to go home for the weekend. It was currently a free period as the class was working on their homework, but Lillian had done hers almost an hour ago so she was free to write or read as much she wanted to do.

She then turned her thoughts to more exciting ones, her and her brother's seventeen birthday was just barely a week away, on the Saturday of next week. Her mother said that she was planning to visiting before heading over to Germany. Lillian was eager to see her mother for the first time in a month, it wasn't just the same by seeing her though the postcards that her mother sometime sent.

She tumbled through her bag, looking for the book that she was currently reading, but she couldn't find it. Lillian frowned, and nearly groaned out loud when she realized that she had left her book on the drawer in her room, instead she bit her bottom lip as she tried to think of something to distract her until the bell rang.

She felt tapping on her shoulder and looked around to see Georgia.

"Hey you okay?" Georgia whispered.

"Oh yeah I'm okay, I left my book home." She sighed.

"Wait, you're without a book? This is a major event in history!" The red-haired beauty teased. Lillian grinned. She was rarely seen without at least one book with her somewhere. "Seriously! We need to report to Grady so he can record it somewhere!"

"I admit it, I was too excited about my upcoming birthday that I forgot my book in the process." She smiled sheepishly.

"Your birthday? When?"

"Next Saturday. On the thirtieth I'll be seventeen." Lillian replied.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Georgia said.

"I forgot?" Lillian shrugged. Georgia shook her head and smiled. And then the bell rang, signalling that the school was done for the week.

"See you on Monday." Georgia called as she walked away from Lillian after leaving the school building, her words was hard to heard over the overlapped chatters and noises of the students lounging, looking for their rides. It was starting to rain, the news had said that there were a big storm on the way.

"Yeah, see you then." Lillian waved and walked to the meeting place. Seeing her brother under a tree, she called his name to get his attention.

"What took you longer than usual?" Her brother asked as Lillian entered under the tree, out of the rain that was getting heavier. She hoped that her aunt would arrive soon, she didn't want to get a cold on the weekend.

"I was chatting with a friend." Lillian replied.

Five minutes later, their aunt's minivan finally drove up, and Lilllian and Phillip quickly ran into the van to avoid getting drenched. Fortunately, as Aunt June drove, the rain began to cease, but the dark clouds on the far horizon still carried the threat of a storm.

The dogs barked as the car drove up the driveway, Lillian stepped out of the car to greet her dogs. Sophifa to her, excitedly, while her brother, Herucle preferred to lay on the ground, chewing the tasty bone.

"Down girl!" Lillian laughed as Sophia placed her muddy paws on her knees tried to give her a very sloppy kiss. Finally the dog went back to the ground and ran to where her brother was playing with the dog bone. Lillian sighed when she saw the big, brown mud spots on her pants, she had tried to be careful as they were still new and in a prime condition, as many of her other pairs was worn out from so many uses. Herding her dogs into the garage where she cleaned and dried the dogs before letting them inside the house.

Entering into the warm surrounding of her home, she took her boots off before entering the living room and she jumped on the couch, leaning back on the sofa cushions. Enjoying the soft comfort of the couch as she started to sink further into her swaying thoughts. Her aunt then came out of her study.

"Lillian! There you are! Can you please cook dinner tonight? I'll be too busy." Her aunt asked. "Do change your jeans, I don't want the couch to get dirty, and where is your brother?" She tilted her head to look at the vacant kitchen where Phillip usually went to for a snack.

"Yeah sure I'll cook, and I think he's in his room." Lillian stood up and checked if she had gotten any dirt on the couch.

"Get him for me please? I need to talk to him. Now where is that document? I swore I put it there…" Aunt June muttered as she returned to her study, searching for the misplaced document as Lillian made her way to her brother's room. Leaning on the door frame of Phillip's room, her brother was working on his science homework, his tongue was stuck out as he focused on one certain question he couldn't figure out.

"Phillip, Aunt June wants to see you." Lillian said, loud enough to pull him out of his focus. Phillip nodded, signalling that he had heard but gave no signs that he was leaving his work. She left the room and entered her room for a change of jeans. After changing, Lillian went to rearrange her bookshelf, for more books she might get later. And then went to the kitchen to make dinner which was her special, meatloaf surprise.

A week later, Lillian was in a rather interesting situation as Laney and Georgia asked whether if they could come over for her birthday on Saturday.

"O-oh uh," She stuttered, trying to make something believable. "Well, I'm going out with my family for a family outing, yeah. A family outing. Maybe we can meet somewhere else on Sunday?" Phillip could leave while her friends came over, but there were pictures with the twins together almost everywhere, plus they might find his room by accident, and she didn't want to risk that.

"Sure, we can gather at my dad's café. Maybe the boys can come too." Laney said, while Georgia nodded. Lillian sighed in relief as her friends chatted away, planning their trip to the café. The secret was safe, for now at least.

The next day, on the twins' birthday. Lillian was pulling out the materials she had bought for her and her brother's 'birthday party'. Chips, salsa, and anything that was the twins' favourite snack, Her aunt had made some ice cream for them to share later tonight when their aunt arrived from the airport with their mom.

Phillip gave her one of the two cups he had poured the fruit punch in.

"Happy birthday lil' bro," She said, lifting her cup up.

"Happy birthday to you too, sis." Phillip grinned, meeting her halfway with his cup, bumping it. The twins then spent their time watching random movies and eating the snacks, waiting for their mom and aunt's arrival.

_**Written by Noodles830**_


	8. Seven: Phillip

_Dear mom,_  
_Guess who's seventeen? It's almost impossible to believe how long we've been here! I've missed you loads and it sucks that the plane got delayed on today out of all days. Lillian's been forcing me to watch chick flicks all day with her, they're not too bad but I wish she'd let me chose at least ONE movie._  
_I hope you get here soon, I've missed you._  
_Love, Phillip._

"That. Was. Beautiful!" Lillian exclaimed as the credits rolled onto the screen. She brushed a few crumbs off of her jeans and reached for another Kleenex to blow her nose. She then proceeded to get up and take out the DVD from the player. Her brother stretched and yawned, something he always did at the end of a movie, and then began to clean up the food.

"Who knew you were such a cry baby." Phillip laughed as his sister flopped back onto the sofa to put the DVD back in its case.

"It's not like you weren't crying!" Lillian exclaimed and reached over to playfully slap her brother's arm, causing him to drop the now-empty bowl of popcorn onto the floor. They both stared at it intensely as it fell to the floor, spilling crumbs and seeds onto the carpet. Lillian sighed and looked up at her brother. "This is exactly why we have plastic bowls."

"You're the one who slapped it out of my hand!" Phillip protested, picking up the bowl.

"Oh shush, we have to take our dogs on a walk." She replied, grabbing the two leashes from the hanger on the door.

"Our dogs?" He questioned. "They're your dogs."

"Oh shush." She repeated. "They need to be walked regardless." She waved the dog leashes in front of her brother's face until she felt that her point was proved and then walked off to find the dogs. Phillip sighed and finished cleaning up the lounge.

In the few hours that they'd spent waiting for their mother and aunt, the twins had managed to eat over half of the food that they had prepared as well as watching four full-length movies. This was not what Phillip had in mind for their seventeenth birthday and he wished that their mother would make it, so they could at least spend it with her if they couldn't with anyone else.

"How long do you think they're going to be?" Phillip shouted over at his sister, who was currently wrestling with Hercule to get his leash on. Sophifa, whose leash was already on, was jumping around next to her brother, trying to be a part of the 'game'.

"Phillip, you were there when I answered the phone call." Lillian sighed at her brother's cluelessness. "The flight got super delayed, it might even take until tomorrow. Now come on before he manages to take the leash off."

Over the time they had been here, a path had began to form where they took the dogs to walk. The two dogs ran ahead as the twins walked together, chatting. The sun shone shyly though the tree branches and a small breeze swept through the forest and blew the leaves beneath their feet.

"Rutger asked about you." Phillip told his sixteen-now-seventeen-year-old sister.

"He did?" His sister asked, suddenly curious. The twins rarely discussed their schools beside making plans as to what they would do to bring the schools together. So far they had no good ideas.

"Yeah, he was wondering why you hadn't attended school with me." Phillip answered. "I told him you weren't up for the idea of a new school and that you wanted the freedom to see mom whenever you wanted and so you decided to be home schooled. I think he might have kicked me out if I'd told him the truth."

"It's crazy isn't it?" Lillian asked, the two of them had now stopped walking. "How can two fantastic schools hate each other that much. I mean, I love Bluebell High but this constant bickering is getting on my nerves. Who knew a school could have a hamartia?"

"I'm pretty sure that's not the correct way to use that word, sis." Phillip replied laughing and then sighed, ruffling his hair. "They hate each other so much. How are we going to fix that?"

"I have no idea." She replied, and the two continued to walk.

"10 hours, 11 minutes and 20 seconds late. 10 hours 11 minutes and 25 seconds late. 10 hours 11 minutes and 30 seconds late..."

"Will you please stop that!" Lillian exclaimed. The twins were in the lounge once more, spread out over the two sofas. They'd been sitting in the same position for so long that Phillip didn't even have to focus to remember to stroke Jaffa anymore. "It's enough that we have to sit here and wait."

"Well that's not my fault bis sis'." Phillip argued, the background silence was then broken by the phone ringing. Both twins shot up from the sofa. "That must be them!"

The twins raced to the kitchen where the phone was located. Phillip, unsurprisingly, tripped over a cable. He pushed himself up from the ground and sat cross-legged leaning on the wall.

"Tell mom I said hi!" He shouted. Lillian's response was muffled by a knock on the door. Phil stretched and got up to open it. Two girls were standing outside, one had blonde hair tied into a tight bun while the other had a mop of curly hair everywhere. They both looked like they were Phillip's age which meant...

"Hey, is Lillian home?" Asked the blonde one.

"Um..."

"Mom says hi too lil' bro. They said they'll be home soon!" Lillian said walking into the room. She froze when she saw the two girls. "Oh..."

**-nighttimetale**


	9. Eight: Lillian

_Lillian,_  
_I miss you too sweetie, I can't wait to see you at Aunt June's home. It's wonderful to know that you are enjoying Bluebell, it does sound like a great school from what you've told me, I should have taken that chance to move to High Valley all those years ago, but then I would've never met your father._

_My trip has been great so far, but I will spare the details when I visit any time soon which I just can't wait to show you all the things I brought for you and Phillip. __Dear, do watch over your brother and be careful, I don't want any mishap to happen, you know how hard it is to clean them up._

_I love you my little bookworm,_  
_Mom_

"Oh." Lillian said as she saw her two friends standing outside the door, she had forgotten that she was meeting her friends at the café today. "Oh." She repeated, all too aware of the current situation. Laney and Georgia standing front of her and her brother, and she had forgotten about- wait, Lillian realized with wide eyes as she glanced to her brother briefly. Her friends had just saw her brother. She mentally face-slapped herself as she recalled her mother's warning, she had forgotten her plans due to the excitement of turning seventeen and anxiously waiting for their mother.

"Uh Lillian? Who is this?" Laney asked.

"Oh! Uh, this is my uh nephew." Lillian said at the same time Phillip said 'cousin'. Stuttering, she hurried to cover her mistake, "Cousins! Yeah, cousins, we're cousins." She gave out a forced chuckle. Laney and Georgia looked at each other.

"Uh um, okay?" Laney said, not believing, but the blonde did not press on the subject much to Lillian's relief. "Georgia and I were wondering if you're still coming with us to the café? Ash and Cam are waiting for us."

Lillian scratched her neck as she tried to figure how to answer but Phillip came to her rescue as he spoke to her. "You can go, don't worry. If our, er, grandma and Aunt June arrive, I'll call you. I can handle myself until then." He told his sister with a smile. Which Lillian thanked with a hug.

"You are my life saver." Lillian laughed after hugging, "Love ya!" She called, pulling on her jacket as she began to leave with her friends.

"Is he from around here?" Laney asked Lillian as they made their way to Georgia's small pick-up truck.

"No, he isn't. He lives around three or four hours north, near Zephyr."

"Oh, I thought I had saw him around town recently, but guess not." Laney shrugged.

After a couple minutes of driving, they had arrived at the café. It was small but it was a popular place for the citizens of High Valley, and several towns nearby, to visit. The traffic was unusually thin on a Sunday, but Lillian wasn't complaining.

"You sure took a while." Ash said as he saw the girls entering the café, out of the bitter, cold October air.

"Sorry. Sorry. I forgot." Lillian sighed as she took her jacket off inside the warm café. Sitting at the table the gang was currently seated at, as Laney left momentarily to help her father with the 'surprise' that she and her father had prepared for Lillian.

Ash shook his head, "We didn't wait that long, don't worry." He said with a smile which Lillian copied.

"Alright!" Laney said, holding a cake, "Here we are!" She put the cake on the table, her father, Howard followed, handing out plates and forks.

"Ah, hello Lillian!" Howard greeted cheerfully. "I hope you're having a nice day!"

"I am." Lillian smiled.

After blowing the candles, Howard had insisted that they should do the tradition style. After he pulled out the candles, eating the cake (which was absolutely delicious) and many long strings of chatters, Lillian was exhausted and ready to return home.

Thanking Georgia for the ride home, Lillian finally entered her safe and warm haven. Taking off her shoes and jacket, she entered the living room.

"Mom!" She cried when she saw her mother sitting on the couch in the living room chattering with her aunt.

"Hello Lily," Her mom chuckled as Lillian immediately hugged her as soon her mother stood up. "I missed you, sweetie." She said as she hugged her daughter tightly. Eventually they had to break apart. "I swear you grew some inches since the last time I saw you. The same goes for your brother." Her mother laughed as she held Lillian by the shoulders.

Lillian suddenly straightened up as she cried at her brother. "Phillip Jonathan Evers! Why didn't you call me when mom arrived?" Grabbing a pillow, she chased him around the house as she tried to hit her brother.

"I'm sorry!" Her brother said, as he tried to dodge his sister's advances. "But I was unable to call you, Sophifa took my phone and buried it outside in the mud!" Phillip gasped for air but tripped over, crashing into the hallway and Lillian tackled him, holding him down as she continually hit Phillip with the pillow.

"You. Could. Have. Called. With. The. Kitchen. Phone!" She said with each hit. Finally she stopped hitting her brother with the pillow in exhaustion and then resorted to tickling her brother.

"Get off me!" Phillip laughed, still gasping for breaths as he tried to pry his sister off him.

"You will pay! You hear me!" Lillian said as her brother successfully pulled himself from her death grip and rested on his back next to his sister in the hallway.

"Well as the excitement is now over," Their mom said with a smile directed to her children as she walked through the hallway. "Aunt June made us all some ice cream to eat and-" Her sentence was abruptly ended as her children, recovered from the 'little chase', raced to the kitchen for the biggest bowl of ice cream.

The twins' mother laughed as she walked to where the kitchen was, "Those children." She muttered with a twinkle in her eyes.

**_Written by Noodles830_**


	10. Nine: Phillip

**I'm awfully sorry about the delay for this chapter. Exams can be stressful!**

* * *

_Dear mom, _

_I thought that I would thank you for the wonderful gifts you brought me for my birthday through this letter as well as in person. That magnificent set of brushes deserves it, so thank you._

_The Cooking Festival is almost here and I still have no idea what to prepare. Lillian and I have been sitting over cooking books for the past month! I think I'll go with either Tempura or Cream Croquettes. Apertizers are my absolute favourite, it was very lucky that we arrived when we did. Don't worry, I shall send you some as well._

_Love, Phillip_

Something was different. As Phillip had been walking through the same corridor for almost two months now, he was used to the atmosphere in the hallway. There was usually some whispering and giggling going on between the girls. Sometimes they didn't even bother to whisper. Nothing came close to _this._

It appeared that almost every female in the school, and some males, had been stricken by some witch's spell, causing them to be a hundred times as giggly. From the few bits and pieces Phillip could make out from the gossip in the hall, it appeared the new music teacher had arrived at last.

"Have you seen his hair?" One girl asked her friend rather loudly. "It's a perfect white, it's so gorgeous!"

"He has a violin! Isn't that just so romantic?" Another gushed.

Phillip was rather confused as he got to his English class. "What's with the new music teacher?" He asked the mail carrier that sat next to him.

"Are you in on it to?" Dirk asked him, a horrified look on his face.

"In on what?" Phillip asked, even more confused now.

"The love!" Dirk exclaimed. "Everyone is in love with the guy! It's starting to freak me out!" The blonde boy proceeded to drop his face in his hands. Phillip couldn't help but laugh.

"As we wait for young Kana to arrive, I have some information to inform you of." Gombe spoke from his chair, grabbing the class' attention. "Starting today, for the remainder of this week, all juniors will replace their period three session with music. Seniors will replace their period two. This is a tester class so I suggest you have fun with it. After all, less homework means more time to relax."

The class erupted into a discussion that was met with a groan from Dirk. It was finally interrupted when Kana, who appeared even more confused than Phillip was earlier, entered the class. He quickly shrugged off the confusion, greeted Gombe and turned to sit down as the lesson began.

During period three, Phillip found himself bewildered. He had been waiting in cooking class for almost ten minutes now and not a single soul had shown up, not even Yun. He had checked his timetable at least four times now but it definitely said that he was supposed to be here. Where was everyone?

When Yun entered the classroom, he breathed a sigh of relief. The relief left him as soon as he saw the questioning look on her face and it dawned on him. "Ah, Phillip. Are you not supposed to be in music?" Yun questioned the rust-haired boy.

"I completely forgot!" Phillip gushed, already grabbing his bag and he rushed out of the classroom.

He ran down the hallway, thanking the Goddess that there were no teacher's around to tell him off at this time in the day. He stopped for a few quick moments to catch his breath before entering the new music room that had been converted from one of the older math classrooms.

The first thing Phillip saw of the new teacher was his hair. The girls in the hallway weren't exaggerating; it _was_ a perfect white. The teacher was young, no older than twenty-five, and he was wearing an orange shirt and clear-frame glasses. A cream coat hung from the back of the chair behind the desk.

"Sorry I'm late." Phillip told the man, sending a silent thank you to the goddess when the man smiled.

"Don't worry your soul." The man replied with a soothing voice. "Please, take a seat. My name is Mikhail."

Phillip could actually hear the collective sigh in the class. He wondered if it would be like that every time Mikhail spoke. He took a seat next to Hiro, who was partially covered by a conga drum.

"No worries, Nori, I will catch you when you swoon." Kana said as Phillip approached their lunch table with Hiro. Nori was a bright red and glaring at Kana while Dirk did all he could not to fall out of his chair with laughter.

"Hey." He said, taking his usual seat next to the raven-haired girl.

"Hey guys, do you have any tissues?" Kana asked them. "I think Nori might still be drooling."

"You, my friend, are simply jealous that all the girls are swooning over his hair instead of your biceps." Nori said with a smile. Dirk had finally managed to calm down and was wiping tears from his eyes.

"So, Phillip." Dirk asked him, leaning over the canteen table. "Now that we've established that Nori is not immune to the charms of the magnificent Mikhail and have been reassured of Kana's vanity, what are you making for your cooking debut?"

"I'm not quite sure. It'll either be some Tempura or Cream Croquettes." Phillip said (once Nori punched the blonde boy on the arm) and he could have sworn Dirk's eyes lit up.

"Cream Croquettes it is!" He announced smiling. "You better not mess it up my friend, Cream Croquettes are an art. Everything lies in your hands. I suggest using anadama bread for the bread crumbs as it adds a certain complexity to..."

"It's his absolute favourite food." Nori whispered to Phillip while Dirk continued to rant on about the dish. Phillip considered making Tempura just to mess with his friend, but decided against it. With the passion Dirk was discussing the dish, he doubted he would be forgiven easily. Instead, he decided to listen to the mail carrier talk about why sunflower oil was the best type for the dish.

"Phillip, we have a problem." Lillian exclaimed as he got into their Aunt's car.

"And what would that be, big sis?"

"Laney and Georgia know you exist," She replied, "And they think that you live in Zephyr."

Phillip could see why that could be a problem, a very big one. The cooking festival was in less than a week's time. He could also think of two more people who knew that the twins were twins. "There's also Rutger and Ina. This just got ten times as complicated."

After asking Aunt June for her opinion, the twins decided it would be best to seek the help of the Mayor herself. After all, she had been the one who had gotten them into this mess in the first place. The Mayor's house was huge. It was three stories high and stretched out longer than three of Aunt June's homes standing together. It was a dark brown and was surrounded by beautiful gardens.

The twins were amazed as they entered the great interior of the mansion and were greeted by friendly workers. All of the workers were rather short and (Phillip wondered if it was just his brain) they all appeared to be of the exact same height. There also seemed to be thousands of them, each worker looked completely different to the next and they appeared out of nowhere. Phillip could have sworn he saw a pink haired worker rush toward one exit and the re-enter the room from the other side of the town hall mere seconds later. It was rather unsettling.

"They look like sprites." Lillian remarked, quietly. The name stuck into Phillip's mind, it fit perfectly.

The two received biscuits from the sprites and were lead to a small room where Demeter Heavens sat behind a mahogany desk. "Ah, Lillian, Phillip, how may I help you?" She asked, dismissing her sprites as she motioned for them to sit down.

"You see..." Lillian recollected the entire story of the Sunday as well as the meeting with the principles on their first day.

"I see." Demeter said after a short silence. She stood up and began to pace the room. "And Rutger and Ina never asked about you after that?"

"Rutger asked me about Lillian recently." Phillip responded. "I told him that she preferred to be home schooled."

"I see, I see." The mayor continued to pace silently around her office for a few more minutes, before she returned to her chair and looked at the two seriously. "I think it will be best to stick to the home schooled story. Lillian, if Ina asks you, repeat it except that Phillip is the home schooled one. If they ask why either of you is participating for the other team, say that I put you there to keep fair numbers."

The twins nodded eagerly, glad to have a plan.

"What about Laney and Georgia?" Lillian asked.

"I will make sure that they are too busy to attend this cooking festival, or at least the Konohana part. You don't have to worry about them." The mayor smiled. "And remember, it is vital that nobody knows that you're attending separate schools until the principles begin to get along."

**-nighttimetale**


End file.
